...AND FRIENDS

The return of a legend! Rather a project initiated by Enrico VESCO, faithful collaborator of the Venetian group for almost thirty years who brought together Michi DEI ROSSI and Tony PAGLIUCA to try to bring together all the important musicians in the musical history of LE ORME (except one..... ..) for what will probably be the last album of the transalpine group but also the first double album of unreleased songs in its entire history.

A special and moving quote for the participation in this album of a musician from LE ORME who has been missing for thirty years: Germano SERAFIN. A rendition of him recorded at the time appears on the album.

Main question; Was it useful to publish a box set of 3 CDs since around ten titles are not real and new LE ORME? The five titles composed by Tony PAGLIUCA will add nothing to the glory of the group, only one being sufficiently "classy" to feature in a worthy place in the Ormes repertoire. The initial idea was certainly good, its implementation is much less so. We're not going to throw the baby out with the bathwater, that's not the goal, simply a simple album with unreleased tracks would have been more than sufficient in my opinion.

So let's talk about the first CD called "Il Leone e la Bandera" and where we find the best of what is offered to us. After the "Ouverture", we move on to one of the pearls of the project with "Acqua di Luna" where we meet Luca SPARAGNA the new singer who has the privilege of replacing and making us forget Aldo...Question sound recording and mixing, no doubt we are there. ''Ferro e Fuoco" is much more energetic but nevertheless listenable. Bis repeat of the second title with "Lucciole di Vetro" by pure LE ORME with an astonishing keyboard score (piano and organ) by Michele BON and a magnificent singing by Luca in the terminal part, overall the honor is safe.

"L'alba della Partenza" is a successful combination of "Verita Nascoste" (the title track) and an Emersonian piano, and then this vocal phrasing which delights me, well done Luca SPARAGNA! The following piece "Rosa dei Venti" is in the same version except the choirs in the second part which make it passionate and exciting, I would even say captivating...The concluding instrumental track "Caigo" closes this album in style , flooded with the protean keyboards of Michele BON who proves her immense talents as an instrumentalist and joins Mr. SPARAGNA at the top of the bill for this album which honestly could stand on its own, but I am not a marketing specialist!

A good point for the iconography which recalls on the one hand the Venetian origins of the members of LE ORME, on the other hand the jacket of the cover of "Felona e Sorona" from 2016. Conclusion the first disc alone is worth an 8.5 but the rest barely reaches 7 (being nice) so an average of 7.5.